The Power of Bad · Roy F. Baumeister & John Tierney

Negativity bias examples

Curated by · reviewed 2026-06-01

Negativity bias is how bad hits harder than good — one criticism can outweigh ten compliments, and threats grab attention faster than rewards. Examples:

What is negativity bias? Read the full idea →

5 examples of negativity bias

  1. The one bad review

    Nine glowing reviews and a single harsh one — and it's the harsh one you replay for days.

  2. Insults outlast praise

    A cutting remark from years ago stays sharp in memory, while the kind words fade.

  3. Doomscrolling

    Bad news is stickier and more clickable, so feeds and front pages tilt dark — and we keep scrolling.

  4. Loss-framed warnings work

    'Don't miss out' and 'your account is at risk' grip us harder than the equivalent positive offer.

  5. One bad first impression

    A single off moment colours how we see someone, taking many good moments to undo.

How to spot it in yourself

You'll forget most of this by next week.

That's just how memory works. Lock negativity bias in with a 5-minute active-recall session — spaced repetition, no signup.

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